


Rise Up

by a_mind_at_work (Madame_Marauder)



Series: Beli3ver 'verse [11]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Birthday Fluff, F/M, Gen, M/M, happy fucking birthday A.Ham, minimal angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-03-03 12:26:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13341234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madame_Marauder/pseuds/a_mind_at_work
Summary: They're all but snowed in, but that doesn't mean they can just ignore the fact that it's Alexander's 21st.





	Rise Up

    “Happy mcfucking birthday!” Peggy calls, a mess of curls and pastel yellow and implausibly perfect makeup. If you'd look at her, you'd have no idea she'd driven four people here through freezing rain, and stopped to pick up cake on the way. “The cake’s frozen solid, but there's not much I can do about that. We had it on Herc’s lap in front of the vents the whole time, we tried.”

     James rolls his eyes as Herc presents Eliza with the cake, and John points at their feet. “Hell no, shoes off, we're not getting snow all over everything. We've got blankets.”

     Aaron isn't reluctant at all to toe off his shoes and move further into the dorm, and the rest follow suit. Alexander tosses him a dark grey blanket with a knowing look, and Thomas shifts as their friend twists it around his legs and curls his feet under him.

     “You guys really didn't have to come across campus,” Alexander says weakly, but Herc shoves a badly wrapped gift at his chest and accepts a blanket from John.

     “Yes we did. We're not missing your twenty-first, even if we're stuck in your dorm,” he replies, and wedges himself a spot to sit on John’s bed.

     Thomas sighs, but takes the proffered magenta monstrosity of a blanket. “Half the people here aren't of age, so James wouldn't let us bring actual alcohol. But we have kid's wine.”

     “I appreciate it,” Angelica replies from the spot she'd claimed moments before the others arrived. Lafayette sighs dramatically from the opposite end of the bed, but doesn't object. 

     Eliza finally manages a safe spot for the cake on top of the microwave, and sighs at the sight of seven people sitting on one twin bed. “Guys. You can sit on the other bed. Come on.”

     Herc waves a hand from behind Thomas. “Nah, I'm comfortable. And near the heater. I'm good.”

     There are general noises of agreement from everyone else, particularly Peggy, who at some point claimed her sister as a pillow. Angelica’s not objecting, and has started braiding the other's hair, so Eliza just shrugs and joins her boys on the other bed.

     Which is indeed further from the heater. Damn.

     “Open the present!” someone calls the instant that the trio are settled. Everyone's in more or less a pile- hard to tell who's speaking when they're talking around three others.

     Alexander rolls his eyes and does, tearing off the obnoxious sparkly blue paper, only to glare resentfully at the contents. Peggy is already snickering before Laf wheezes and bursts out laughing. “It's better, because he sucks at Monopoly!”

     And, yeah, Alexander can admit that's pretty damn funny. That doesn't mean he doesn't flip off his sibling as everyone tries and fails not to laugh. “Fuck you too.”

     “I feel like I should be a bit concerned,” James chimes in. “The founder of our financial system apparently regularly fails at Monopoly.”

    Laf shakes their head. “People think he doesn't want to play because it's an affront to his precious financial plan. But really, he just doesn't want to admit how shitty he is at board games.”

    “Okay, look, I always beat you at Scrabble! In French! And English!”

    “That doesn't count!”

    “Laf, you've always been bad at crosswords. Alex, you've always been worse at cards. Moving on,” John cuts in before it can become a discussion. “Alex, love, open your damn present while the cake defrosts.”

    Alexander rolls his eyes, but a look from Herc silences the remark on his lips, and he carefully rips open the understated brown paper. He's greeted with a soft cream sweater, and he ignores the others as he pulls John into a kiss.

    “What the hell gets that reaction?” Thomas demands as they finally break apart.

    Eliza holds up the sweater, and Laf groans. “It's the Coat.”

    “It's a sweater, though,” Peggy retorts.

    Alexander just grins at John. “Didn't get to do that last time,” he murmurs. John just smirks back, and catches him in another- but shorter- kiss.

     “I know,” he replies softly.

     Aaron shakes his head. “No, you don't understand. Last time, for his twenty-first, John got Ham a coat that color.”

     “I always kept it,” Alexander adds quietly. John just pulls him closer, and their friends’ conversation filters back in.

     Herc is shaking his head and smiling knowingly. “You have no idea how many times he made me patch that thing. Wore it until it was unraveling, then brought it to me.”

      “And you did an excellent job every time,” Alexander replies. Herc tips a nonexistent hat.

      Thomas blinks, still not getting it. Aaron leans forward, whispering something under his breath, making Thomas’s eyes widen and he ducks his head.

      “Cake,” Peggy declares abruptly, and everyone chimes in with their agreement. Eliza gets the paper plates- because Alexander and John might be the ones who live here, but they're still clinging to each other like there's no tomorrow, and quite frankly she just doesn't want to disturb them.

     “Wait, shit, don't we have candles?” Aaron asks, because at least someone here remembers these things.

    James raises his hand. “Left pocket of my coat.”

    Eliza digs them out, and her hand closes around a six. James smirks at her confused look, and this time she reaches back in to find a two and a one. “261? Really?”  

    He nods, looking way too pleased with himself. “Yeah.”

    Alexander snorts, and Aaron rolls his eyes, but nobody objects. The cake design is truly awful, a shaky attempt at the musical logo in bright yellow against white icing, and the neon green number-candles don't offer any improvements whatsoever.

    “Okay, but do we have anything to light them with?”

    Thomas grins and glances over to Aaron. “Want to attempt to light them with a flintlock?”

    Aaron glares. “Okay, look, that was one time-”

    “Lighter in the same pocket,” James says loudly. 

    Peggy tries and fails to get the lighter going, and Eliza flicks it on with a sigh. “Margarita. Honestly. It's not that hard.”

    “Shut your fuck, Elizabeth,” she retorts. “People, sing!”

    Dead silence, until Laf starts up, off-key as usual.

    “Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday Alexander, happy birthday to you!”

    Obviously, there are variations. Dear boy, Hammy, Hamslice, Federalist asshole, whatever. The point was, nobody commented on the knot of emotion in his chest or the tears threatening in his eyes as he blows out the candles.

    And he wished for them to be able to do this for each other every year, of course. What else would it be?

    In all honesty, for Walmart cake, it's not half bad. John ends up with icing on his nose, and Eliza is giggling over it, and his mom and the Washingtons have both just texted him happy birthday, and there's really no place that he would rather be.

**Author's Note:**

> If you've read enough of my writing to recognize the Coat... thanks?
> 
> History lesson:  
> • the coat thing is history inaccurate  
> • what is true, though, is that Burr once tried to light a candle with a gun and set himself on fire in the process  
> • the (nonexistent) Coat was bought for Ham's last(/first? reincarnation is hard) 21st birthday, which would've been at Valley Forge, which is,,, ow.
> 
> U got ur fluff, prep for heavy angst for part 3 of the Birthday Spectacular
> 
> (Also, this is still a songfic, based off the beauty that is the song by the same name by Imagine Dragons. It's great. I love it.)
> 
> My main Tumblr: @discount-satan  
> My writing Tumblr: @littlelionroar
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated! I swear we'll get back to the plot arc once I've posted Dream. I swear.


End file.
